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Bostwick-Braun Welcomes Southern Hardware to its 2010 Dealer Market

September 27, 2010

Spirits were high and the show floor was bustling at Bostwick-Braun’s 2010 Dealer Market, held Sept. 23-25 in Toledo. Overall attendance was up 20 percent from last year, and adding to the energy of the market were customers from Southern Hardware, who were there to explore the new opportunities available through Bostwick-Braun’s products and services.

Bostwick-Braun invited a few top dealers from Southern Hardware to its market after the merger between the two companies, announced earlier this year. The market provided an opportunity to demonstrate how the combined strength of the two companies means customers of both distributors will have a greater selection of warehoused products at their disposal to help them strengthen their position in the marketplace.

Southern Hardware Company, a wholesaler distributor located in West Helena, Ark., sells to approximately 500 dealers in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri and Oklahoma with a strong focus in plumbing, electrical, lawn & garden and builders hardware items. Southern Hardware will keep its current staff, warehouse and office, and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bostwick-Braun Company.

“The change should be mutually beneficial to both companies,” says Bostwick-Braun Chairman and CEO Bill Bollin, as each will be able to share in the strengths of the other. It also helps the company extend its reach beyond its current Midwestern territory.

“This fits with our strategy to extend our territory in to the south,” says Bollin. “We’ve so far been limited in how far we could range because our warehouse is in the north.” What Bostwick-Braun brings to Southern Hardware is a broader product line in general hardware. In return, Southern Hardware has strengths in commodities and building products like locks, ventilation products and concrete. Bollin says he expects Bostwick-Braun dealers already have an interest in those areas, and now they will have a stronger product selection.

Tom Miller, president and COO of Southern Hardware, says the merger is important to the longevity of the company. While the company has been family owned for more than 50 years, the merger means that like Bostwick-Braun, it will make the transition to becoming 100-percent employee owned. That allows it to survive past the retirement or health plans of any one individual, says Miller.

“Southern Hardware has enjoyed a long association with Bostwick-Braun, and its CEO Bill Bollin, through its membership in the PRO buying group,” says Miller. “The result of the merger will be a larger, better-capitalized business with broader product offerings, additional dealer services and immediate access to advanced technology.”

“This is the coming together of two great organizations. Culturally, the partnership has been great. It’s like we’ve been one company for years,” says Bollin.